15th Finance Commission: Kerala calls meet of southern states’ finance ministers

Sources said Kerala finance minister personally contacted the southern ministers over phone and they have agreed to attend the meeting.

Kerala has called a meeting of finance ministers of southern states in Thiruvananthapuram on April 10 to discuss and arrive at a consensus on their response to the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission.

Kerala finance minister TM Thomas Isaac. (PTI Photo)

State finance minister Thomas Isaac sent a letter in this regard two days ago, government sources said.

Isaac has also personally contacted the southern ministers on phone and they have agreed to attend the meeting, the sources said.

The minister said the southern states were being “penalised” for successfully implementing national policies.

The 15th Finance Commission’s proposal to use 2011 census as the basis to allocate union tax revenues will affect all the southern states, according to financial department sources.

“All the southern states have implemented family planning measures from 1971 onwards as a result of which population of these states have come down since 1971. So the quantum of devolution of funds to the states will be affected if 2011 census is taken as the basis point,” the sources said.

As per the terms of reference, the government is also trying to reduce the ability of states to borrow from open markets, which was also a cause of worry, the sources said.